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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · bark · stem · cabinet · march · chest · pit · file

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. court — of a king
  4. march — music
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chest — a box
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. file — a document
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. file — a tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — for sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. march — the month
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. march — the month
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com